Preview: Michigan at Ohio State

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

Michigan looks to continue its recent success in Big Ten play when it hits the road to face Ohio State on Monday. The Wolverines won 10 of their last 12 conference games last season, including four straight contests en route to the Big Ten Tournament title, and are coming off a 69-55 victory over Indiana on Saturday.

Michigan’s impressive conference run started after a disappointing 70-66 loss to the Buckeyes on Feb. 4 and the Wolverines hope to snap a two-game losing skid against their bitter rivals. Ohio State began Big Ten action with an impressive 83-58 rout of Wisconsin on Saturday. The Buckeyes shot a sizzling 66 percent from the field to put back-to-back losses to Butler (67-66) and Clemson (79-65) in the rearview mirror and they aim to stay hot from the floor by beating Michigan for the fourth time in the last five meetings. “It’s still a long season but this is a stepping stone for us,” Ohio State forward Jae‘Sean Tate told reporters. “Coach (Chris Holtmann) was telling us all week that we’ve either got to get tired of losing or we’re just going to get lessons taught to us over and over again.”

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT MICHIGAN (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten): Freshman guard Jordan Poole came off the bench to drain five 3-pointers en route to a career-high 19 points in the win against Indiana. Junior Moritz Wagner added 13 points and seven rebounds while freshman point guard Eli Brooks dished out a collegiate best six assists against the Hoosiers in his fifth straight start. “I love these freshmen I really do,” Michigan coach John Beilein told reporters. “I have more confidence in these guys than I did just three weeks ago.”

ABOUT OHIO STATE (6-3, 1-0 Big Ten): Freshman forward Kaleb Wesson scored a career-high 19 points in the win against Wisconsin while Keita Bates-Diop added 17 points and 11 rebounds to register his sixth double-double of the season. Tate tallied 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting against the Badgers and needs 11 points to move past John Havlicek (1,223) for 35th spot on Ohio State’s all-time scoring list. C.J. Jackson went 3-of-5 from 3-point range to finish with 10 points as the Buckeyes shot 53.8 percent from beyond the arc.

TIP-INS

1. Bates-Diop has recorded 12 double-doubles in his career.

2. Ohio State is 6-0 when scoring 70 or more points this season.

3. Wagner is averaging 18 points and 8.6 rebounds over his last three games.